Portable beach apparatus



Dec. 19, 1933. A. E. HEATH PORTABLE BEACH APPARATUS Filed Dec. 19, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet. l

Sme/wbb@ Dec. 19, 1933. A. E. HEATH 1,940,051

PORTABLE BEACH APPARATUS Filed Deo. 19, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 m05 E. Ha.

A. E. HEATH Dec. 19, 1933.

PORTABLE BEACH APPARATUS 4 sheets-sheet s Filed Dec. 19, 1931 @www mosE [fami/.

l www Dec. 19,1933. A. E. HEATH 1,940,051

PORTABLE BEACH APPARATUS Filed DGO. 19, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Smc/who@ mas E H6421@ Patented Dec. 19, 1933 1,940,051 PORTABLE BEACH APPARATUS Amos E. Heath, Washington, D. C.

Application December 19, 1931 `Serial No. 582,132

s claims. (c1. 25e-166) The present invention relates to life saving equipment and more particularly to a motor propelled beach apparatus capable of carrying to a beach or shore at a point abreast of a stranded vessel, suitable equipment for effecting communication between the vessel `and the shore inorder to save the lives of those upon such vessel in distress.

Among the several principal appliances for sav- 1o ing life from a shipwreck as employed by the Life Saving Service of the United States Coast Guard, is the surf boat, but when it is impractical to use such a boat, wreck ordnance is relied upon for establishing communication with the stranded vessel and vthis ordnance equipment comprises usually, a gun capable of firing a projectile to which is attached a shot line, so thatwhen the gun is fired, this shot line is played outuntil it passes over the vessel in distress. The crew of the vessel, after catching the shot line, attach thereto a Whip line which lattery consists of an endless rope rove through a tail block, the `latter being made fast toa mast of thevessel. This whip line is then brought to the shore bythe beach crew who, in turn, fasten the whip line over a block pulley suitably fastened to a post positioned upon the shore or anchored'inany manner to aistationary object upon the shore.

By means of this whip line,V communication is establishedbetween `the shore and the stranded vessel, or vice Versa. A hawser-line is thenattached to the whip line, usually by the life saving crew upon the beach and this hawser line is drawn taut between a stationary object upon the beach and the vessel, preferably at about two feet above the whip line. A breeches buoy block is usually snapped upon the hawser` and the breeches buoy carried by the same is hauled to and from the wrecked ship by the whipline. A carriage or apparatus cart containing this equipment is usually dragged to the scene of the wreck by draft animals, and in order to facilitate and hasten the transportation of the equipment to the scene of the wreck, I preferably use a motor propelled truck, capable of traveling over the improved highways or over unimproved roads or sandy beaches. Manual labor has heretofore been employed for hauling the shot, whip and hawser lines between the stranded vessel and the beach, which not only takes up considerable time, but, owing to the fact that ice forms upon these ropes or lines, it is diilicult for the same to be handled by the beach crew, and therefore, it is the purpose of the present invention to provide a motor propelled truck not only capable of transporting the life saving equipment, but having suitable winding and reeling mechanism mounted thereupon propelled by the power plant of the truck in order that the ropes employed in the lines of communication between the stranded 50 vessel and the shore may be hauledin under mechanical power, thereby saving considerable time, which is of vital interest in the saving of life from a shipwrecked vessel. v

Another equally important object of the in- 'g5 vention is to provide a combined power driven winch and reeling apparatus capablev of being easily and readily installed upon a standard motor truck, requiring but a comparatively limited amount of space and which, when installed, willv take care of or wind up several ropes or lines as they are hauled in in an efficient and systemmatic manner in order that the ropes may again be payed out as required.

Other-objects of the invention will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

In order that the invention and its mode of operation may be readily understood by persons skilled in the art I have in the accompanying illustrative drawings and in the detailed following description based thereon,V set out several 2 possible embodiments of the same.

In these drawingsz- Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section through a motor truck frame Vand chassis showing, as applied thereto and in front elevation, oneform of my invention;

Figure 2 is a detail longitudinal section through the body of the motor trucktakeriY on the line 2 2 of Figure 1 in the direction of the arrow 90 points; v

Figure 3 is a View similar to Figure 1, showing a slight modification, to wit, a power take-off between the winch and one of the reels;

Figure 4 is another View similar to Figure 1 g5 showing a further modicaticn wherein the reels embodying the present invention are power driven, and

Figure 5 is a detail section through the body of the motor truck showing the center supporting standard for the reels.

Referring now more particularly to the 'accompanying drawings wherein like corresponding partsare designated byv similar'reference characters throughout the several views', I have herein shown .a portion of a motor driven truck chassis comprising channeled side beams 1upon which is mountedA the body of the truck comprising the floor 2, side panels 3, a forward'panel 4.`and a cab 5. This body. isof the open type in order 110 that life saving equipment may be stored therein and readily transported, and the cab 5 is positioned at the forward end of the truck body.

The motor truck is provided with the usual transmission housing 6 and a housing 7 arranged at the side thereof in which the power take-off is enclosed. This power take-off is provided with a drive shaft 8 which, at times, may be connected through the transmission gearing arranged within the housing 6 to the power plant of the motor truck, whereby power may be transmitted to this drive shaft 8. neled side beams or bars 1 are the brackets 9 carrying an L-beam 10 upon ther latter'of whichV is supported a bearing 11 and journaled Within this bearing 11 is one end of the driven shaft 8. Secured to the outer extremity of this driveshaft 8 is a sprocket wheel 12 over which passes a sprocket chain 13.

Supported within the body of the truck in back of the cab 5'thereofis a frame having supported thereon, a winch of.` any preferred or well known construction now commonly used, and immediately arrangedv above this winch are the rope windingVVV reels A and B. This support for the combined' winch and reels comprises a base being formed fromiia pair of parallel L-beams 14 which are` connected together by suitable cross beams 15. This base is suitably secured to the bottom 2y of the'truck body and supports a gear housing 16 as well'V as the bearing' 17. This gear housing isiprovided` with suitable gearing whereby powery may be transferred from'the drive shaft 8 tothe shaft of a drum 1S. In order to effect this connection, a sprocketwheel 19 extends to one' side ofxthe gear'housing 16, over which passes the sprocket chain 13 whereby with rotation of the drive shaft 8, the sprocket wheel 19 will also be rotated therewith in order that the' drum 18 of the Winch may be caused to be rotated'. At this point', it is to be understood that through thetake-off connection and gearing shown, the drive' shaft 8 may be driven inopposite directions or at various speeds, and according'to the direction or speed of. rotation of the drive shaft 8, the sprocket 121will be carried therewith. Whereas one end of the'shaft for the drum 18 is journaled within this gear casing 16', its opposite end is connected through a'clutch 20 to a shaft journaled within the bearing 17 and secured to this latter shaft is a niggerhead 21. A hand lever 22 is provided and has connection with the clutch 20 whereby the niggerhead 21 may be at times operatively connectedvto the drum 18 in order that it may rotate therewith; This lever also carries a brake shoe 23 which is adapted to engage the ange 24'of the drum 18 for controlling the latter when it is free as inthe case of paying oirope wound thereupon.' That end of the drum of the shaft 18 which is `iournaled withinthe gear casing 16 may extend to one side'of the latter in order that through a nexible coupling 25 it may be connected to a shaft 27 carrying another niggerhead 26; This shaft 27 is journaled'withinfa bearing 28 mounted upon the base frame and extends through one of the side panels 3V of the truck body .so that they niggerhead 26 kwill be suspended at one side of the latter.

Arranged directly above the winch are the shotv whip orhawser line reels, and in orderto support 'these reels, I provide a pair of endstandards 29f`each having its lower end4 bolted as at 30 to the side bars'14 of the base frame which supports'thewinch. These standards are each provided withan intermediate cross member 31 and Suspended from the chan.-

connecting these cross members 31 is a bar or rod 31 for further bracing the reel frame. The upper end of each standard is provided with a bearing of the split type, indicated by the numeral 32. Each split bearing comprises a lower stationary section and an upper section 33 which latter is hinged at 34 to the lower section, and the free end of each section 33 is provided with acam and` link clamp 35 for detachably connecting the same to the lower stationary section of the bearing, whereby when the hinged sections 33 of the bearings are released, easy removal of the reelsmay be effected. The reel frame also consists of an intermediate standard 36 which has its lower end bolted as at 37 to one of the cross bars 14 of the base frame for the winch, and its upper end isprovided with an open bearing 38. A rod 39 has one end hingedly connected adjacent theV upper end of the intermediate standard 36 and its lower end is adjustably connected through the bracket 40 to' a strap 41 which latter is secured to the body of the truck. Two interchangeable reels A and B are provided, each comprising a shaft 42 and these shafts are provided with extensions, one of which is adapted to be seated within the opened bearing 38 whereas the opposite extensions of these shafts are journaled within the bearings 32 provided at the upper ends Yof the standards 29. The outer extension of each shaft of the reels is provided with a squared extremity to which may be attached a crank handle 43 whereby these reels may be manually rotated. Each reel has secured to the shaft 42 thereof, two end fianges or disks 44 and one of these reels may be provided with an intermediate iiange or disk 45 which latter is also secured to the shaft 42 of that reel. These reels may be made of wood, brass, aluminum, or any other material as required or as preference may dictate. Y Y

Bymounting my combinedvwinch and reeling apparatus upon a motor truck and establishing a drive connection between the winch and the power plant of the truck, a line may be wound upon the drum 18, or by taking a couple of loops of a line about either one of the niggerheads 21 or 26, such a line may be hauled in and the excess line which has been drawn in by this winch, or the niggerheads thereof, may be manually wound upon either one of the reels A or B.

When using my apparatus in connection with life saving equipment, it at times becomes desirable to have a power take-off for one of the reels, and accordingly, in Figure 3 of the drawings, I have shown a slight modification of the to theshaft 27 so that when this clutch is engaged, the niggerhead 26 may be caused to rotate with the drum shaft 48. This shaft 27 is provided with a sprocket wheel over which passes a sprocket chain 49 and the latter also passes over a sprocket wheel keyed to the shaft 50 of j the reel A,whereby when the niggerhead 26 is brought. into use and a line Vhauled in, the excess rope or line may be mechanically wound upon the reel A.

In'YFgure 41 of the drawings, I have shown a .i

transmission gearing arranged within the-housing 6. A counter shaft 52'is'journaled in suitable Vbearings ati53 which latter are supportedl upon the base frame of the winch, and this shaft 52 has keyed to one end thereof, a sprocket wheel over which passes Aa vsprocket chain 54 whereby when the sprocket wheel 51 which is connected to the transmission gearing, is set in motion, the counter shaft 52 will be caused to revolve therewith. Loosely mounted upon the counter shaft 52 are sprocket wheels 54 and each sprocket wheel 54 carries one member of a clutch, whereas the other member of each clutch is keyed to but slidably mounted upon the shaft 52 and controllable through the hand levers 55` in order that the sprocket wheels may, at times, be connected to the driven counter shaft 52 and be caused to revolve therewith. The shaft 56 of each reel is provided with a sprocket wheel 57 and adapted to pass over these sprocket wheels 54 and 57 are the sprocket chains 58 in order that when the sprocket wheels 54 are operatively connected to the shaft 52, the reels will be caused to turn therewith, whereby the excess rope or line drawn in by the niggerheads 21 or 26 may be wound upon these reels.

By employing my combined winch and reeling apparatus upon a motor propelled truck in the manner aforesaid, it is quite obvious that ample room is left within the body of the truck to carry other beach equipment, such asa gun, breecher buoy, hawser and whip lines to the scene of a shipwrecked vessel. The life saving crew, upon firing the gun from the beach or scene of the shipwrecked vessel, cause the shot line to be carried to such vessel, whereupon the sailors or crew of the vessel will attach to the light shot line, a whip line. The shot line may be connected to the drum 18 of the winch, and by setting the latter into motion, this shot line may be wound thereupon and the whip line drawn into shore. This whip line, after it is received by the life saving crew, may be connected to the niggerhead 21 by taking a couple of turns about such niggerhead, the whip line may be hauled in and the excess rope of the whip line may be wound upon the reel B comprising two sections, .either by manually turning the same through one of the crank handles 43 or driving this reel through the motor of the vehicle by connecting the same through the clutch mechanism as is shown in Figure 4 of the drawings. After. the whip line has been properly anchored ashore, a hawser is connected to this whip line and when this hawser is received bythe life saving crew upon the shore, it may be drawn in by connecting the same` lto the niggerhead 26 and the excess rope of the hawser line may be wound upon the reel A shown to the right of Figure 1, by turning its crank 43 or by employing power driven means, asis shown in either Figures 3 or 4,0f the drawings. After the hawser line has been drawn taut, a

breecher buoy block may be clamped thereuponV and the whip line connected to the breecher buoy whereby this buoy may travel upon the hawser line and be propelled back and forth between the ship and the shore.

By employing my combined winch and reel apparatus it is quite obvious that communication and transportation between the shore and a wrecked ship may be more easily and readily established and when so established the transportation of the passengers and crews from the ship may be effected in a much shorter time than that required by the equipment now in general use, as

Well" as materially reducing therlabor necessary forhandling the various ropes or lines used.

rManifestly, the constructionfherein shown is capable of considerable. modication and such modications as come within the scope of my claims, I-consider within the spirit of my invention. Y

What I claim is: f

1. The combination with a motor truck, having a body and a driven shaft, of a combined hauling and reeling apparatus comprising a base supported within the body of the motor truck, a winch mounted upon said base, means for operatively connecting said winch with the driven shaft of the motor truck whereby said winch may at times be caused to rotate, supports mounted upon and carried by said base, bearings carried by said support and arranged above said winch, and reels removably journaled within said bearlngs.

2. The combination with a motor truck having a body and a driven shaft, of a combined hauling and reeling apparatus comprising a base, said base consisting of side and end members, a winch secured to and supported by the side members of said base, a pair of end standardsV secured to and supported by the opposite ends of said base, an intermediate standard secured to and supported by said base, bearings supported by the upper ends of said standards, and reels removably journaled within said bearings.

3. The combination with a motor truck having a body and a driven shaft, of a combined hauling and reeling apparatus comprising a base, said base consisting of end and side members, means for mounting said base within the body of the motor truck, a winch secured to and mounted upon said base, means for operatively connecting said winch with the driven shaft of the motor truck, a pair of end standards secured to said base, bearings carried by the upper ends of said standards, reels' journaled Within and supported ,by said bearings, and means for operatively connecting said winch with said reels.

n 4. A portable beach apparatus Acomprising in combination a motor truck having a body and a driven shaft, of a support arranged Within the body of the motor truck, a winch secured to and mounted upon said support,means for operatively connecting said winch to the drive shaft of the motor truck, a pair ofend standards secured to and mounted upon said support, an intermediate standard secured to said support, bracingV means for connecting said intermediate standard to the body of the truck, bracing means for connecting said end standards, a bearing carried by each of said standards, reels removably journaled within and supported by said bearings, and means for operatively conecting said reels with the drive shaft of the motor truck` v 5.V A portable beach apparatus comprising in combination a motor truck having a body and a driven shaft, a frame mounted within the body of said motor truck, saidframe comprising a base consisting of side and end bars, a winch secured to and supported by said side bars and operatively connected to the drive shaft of the motor truck, end standards'secured to said side members, an intermediate standard, bearings of the split type mounted upon said end standard, a bearing of the open type carried by said intermediate standard, interchangeable reels, stub shafts formed with each reel and removably journaled Within said bearings, and means for operatively connecting:- said reels` with the` driven shaft-,of the motor truck.

6. A reeling device for motor driven trucksl comprisinga base, said'baseconsisting of side and end anglel bars, a pair of standards each having one end secured to and supported'upon one end of said base, bearings carried by the upper ends of said standards, a rod connecting the medial portions of said standards, aniintermediate stand- AMOS E. HEATH. 

